Wheatstone bridge
Puente de Wheatstone
- Date
- 1833 / 1843 · confidence medium
- Place
- London, England, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Samuel Hunter Christie and Charles Wheatstone
- Field
- Matter & energy
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A diamond circuit of four resistors that compares an unknown resistance with three known ones until the galvanometer current is zero. It is the classic method for measuring resistance accurately.
Christie devised it in 1833 (Royal Military Academy, Woolwich); Wheatstone publicised it in 1843 and gave it his name, though he credited Christie.
What it led to
- precise resistance measurement and cable fault location
- capacitance and inductance bridges
- resistive sensors (strain gauges, thermistors)